Collapsible trestles



Feb. 16, 1960 A. w. THIELEPAPE 2,925,140

COLLAPSIBLE TRESTLES Filed NOV. 25, 1957 United States Patent O COLLAPSIBLE TRESTLES Arnold W. Thielepape, Austin, Tex.

Application November 26, 1957, Serial No. 698,980

1 Claim. (Cl. 182-155) This, invention relates to new and useful improvements in trestles, and in particular concerns itself with certain improvements in the trestle disclosed in my United States Patent No. 2,198,956, issued on April 30, 1940.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a trestle of this general type, including a cross beam and a pair of supporting leg units at the ends thereof, wherein the leg units may be quickly and easily folded to a superposed position on the beam, so that the entire device occupies a small amount of space and may be conveniently transported 'or stored when not in use.

While in my prior patent the leg units were detachable from the beam for purposes of shipping or storage of the trestle, the disassembly of the device required an appreciable amount of time and the detached parts were often misplaced so that they were not readily on hand when the trestle was to be re-assembled. Comparatively, in the present invention, the leg units remain attached to the beam even when folded, and both assembly and disassembly of the device may be carried out with considerable ease and convenience.

Other advantages of the present invention reside in its simplicity of construction, dependable operation, durability, and in its adaptability to economical manufacture.

With the foregoing more important objects and features in view and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention will be understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like parts, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view thereof on an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is an end view thereof;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of one of the braces used in the invention;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the brace; and V Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the mounting members.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the invention comprises a collapsible trestle which is designated generally by the reference numeral 10 and em-- bodies in its construction a cross beam 11, of wood, or the like.

A pair of leg units 12 are provided at the ends of the beam 11 and extend downwardly therefrom for supporting the same in an elevated position above ground or floor, these leg units being similar in construction so that a description of one will suflice for both. Each of the leg units 12 consists of a pair of mounting members 13 which preferably are in the form of angle bars and are disposed at opposite sides of the end portions of the beam 11 so that the vertical flanges thereof are at the sides and the horizontal flanges underlie the beam, as is best shown in Figure 3.

bars.- The lower ends of the leg members are cut away and angulated so as to provide feet 16 to rest on the ground or floor without scratching or otherwise damaging The feet 16 are provided with holes 16a for the same. securing nails.

It will be noted that the mounting members 13, toe

gether with their associated leg members 14 and bars 1 5,

are separate from each other in each leg unit, other thanby being connected to the beam 11 by the means 17, 18;

hereinafter described, and other than by having a col-. lapsible brace 19 extending between the two leg members 14 in each unit, as will be also explained.

The elements 17 are in the form of pins or bolts which extend through the end portions of the beam 11 and through the vertical flanges of the mounting members 13, whereby to pivotally connect the leg members 12 to the beam and whereby topermit the leg members to-be swung upwardly past the ends of the beam as indicated at 20, to a folded, superposed position on top of the beam, shown by the dotted lines 12a in Figure 1.

On the other hand, the elements 18 are in the form of bolts which extend removably through the beam 11 and through the mounting members 13 at points spaced inwardly from the elements 17, and when the elements 18 are in position, they serve to secure the members 13 against the beam and thereby lock the leg units 12 in their operative, downwardly extended positions.

As is best shown in Figure 6, each of the members 13 is provided with suitable apertures 21, 22 to receive the respective elements 17, 18, and it will be also noted that the horizontal flanges of the members 13 under the aper tures 21 are cut away as shown at 23, so that they do not interfere with the ends of the beam when the leg units are swung about the pivot elements 17 to and from their folded position.

As already noted, when the trestle is in .its operative position, the leg members 14 of each leg unit are downwardly divergent as shown in Figure 3, so that their lower ends are spread apart to opposite sides of the beam 11 for ample stability. However, for ease of transportation and storage, it would not be desirable to maintain the leg members in their divergent relation when the leg units are folded on top of the beam, and accordingly, the apertures 21 of the mounting members 13 are sufiiciently large with respect to the diameter of the pivot elements 17 as to afford a certain amount of slackness or play, which permits the leg members 14 to be drawn to a substantially parallel relation as indicated at 14a: in Figure 3, when the fastening elements 18 are removed and the pivot elements 17 are loosened. In this manner, the leg members 14 in their substantially parallel relation will not project appreciably beyond the side edges of the beam 11 when the leg units are folded thereon, as will be readily understood.

The leg members 14 of each leg unit are maintained in their normal, divergent relationship by the aforementioned braces 19. Each of these comprises a pair of complemental sections 19a, 19b which are pivoted to the respective leg members as indicated at 24 and which are pivotally connected together at 25. The inner end portions of the brace sections extend beyond the pivot 25 and are angulated to provide detents 26 which are receivable in notches 27 formed in the brace sections, as shown a in'F igures 4 and 5. ln -other words, thedetent 2'6' of each brace section is receivable in the notch 27 of the other section when the sections are longitudinally aligned, so that the brace is prevented from collapsing downwardly atthe pivot'25. However, the brace mayizbe collapsed upwardly'as shown by the dotted lines 190 in Figure 3, so that the leg members 14 may be drawn to their substantially parallel relation, preparatory tofolding of the leg units on top of the beam 1 1.

It will be observed from the foregoing that I have provided an improved arrangement of my trestle as 'disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,198,956, whereby the same may be quickly and easily folded to a compact form for convenient portability and/or storage, without the need of physically detaching the leg members or units from the beani,-and which may be economically manufactured from readily available components.

While in the foregoing there has been described and shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, various modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly, it is no't desired to limit the invention to this disclosure, and various modifications may be restored to, such as may lie within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is:

In a collapsible trestle, the combination of ahorizontal'beam of a rectangular cross-section having an end surface, upper and lower surfaces and a pair of said edges, a: pair of elongated mounting members provided at opposite sides of said beam and having outer ends flush with the end surface'of the beam, said mounting members being L-shaped in cross-section and including vertical flanges abutting the respective side edges and horizontal flanges supportably underlying the lower surface of the beam, a pair of inclined legs secured at their upper ends to the inner ends of the respective mounting members and extending downwardlytherefrom to contact the ground at points spaced outwardly from the outer ends of the mounting members, the outer ends of the horizontal flanges of the mounting members terminating short of the outer ends of the vertical flanges whereby the outer end portions of the vertical flanges constitute a pair of projecting ears terminating flush with theend surfac'eof the beam, and a combined fastening and pivot element extending transversely through said beam and through said ears, whereby said mounting members may be swung outwardly and upwardly about said element to a folded position wherein theyproject upwardly from theend of the beam and wherein said legs" arenested above the] beam with'their'free extremities contacting :the upper face of the-beam intermediate the'end's'bf thelatteia References Cited in the fileo'f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,713,359 Thomas May 14, 1929:

2,198,956 Thielepape Apr. 30, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS p 163,573 Germany L. Oct. 13, 1905 

